The Scott County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal crash that led to an overnight closure of a Kentucky highway Tuesday morning.
The crash happened shortly after 2 a.m. at mile marker 121 in the southbound lanes of I-75, just before Fayette County’s first I-75 exit, Iron Works Pike. The sheriff’s office said a tractor-trailer traveling in the northbound lanes lost two tires, which then struck the front windshield of another tractor-trailer and an SUV traveling in the northbound lanes. south direction.
The driver of the tractor-trailer who was struck by one of the loose tires was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. The identity of the driver will not be revealed until immediate family members have been notified.
The other tire struck an SUV and caused the vehicle to go off the right side of the road into a field, the sheriff’s office said. The occupants of the SUV suffered minor injuries and were transported to Georgetown Community Hospital.
The incident caused several other wrecks that left the southbound lanes of I-75 completely blocked at one point, according to the sheriff’s office. One of the other wrecks injured the sheriff’s office and EMA officials. Their injuries were described as not life-threatening.
Another of the other accidents involved a hazardous materials spill, according to the sheriff’s office.
Traffic slows on Interstate 75 following accident
The accident caused a significant traffic back-up on I-75, paralyzing the road for hours. From 7:42 a.m. only one lane of southbound I-75 was open and moving while the others remain blocked, according to the Lexington Traffic Management Center. The sheriff’s office did not say when the road would fully reopen, but said it was strategically opening ramps and lanes.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused to motorists. Highway closures are rare but occasionally, as in this case, very necessary,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
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